Abstract
The significance of the contributions made to the development of mathematical physics by Joseph Fourier (1768–1830) has been made difficult to evaluate by the controversies which they stirred amongst his colleagues and rivals. One result of this situation was that his major paper, submitted to the Académic des Sciences at Paris in 1807, was never published. The manuscript is still extant, however, and its major features are discussed in the light both of contemporary results and also of immediately succeeding work which it did so much to inspire. An edition of this and other Fourier manuscripts on mathematical physics is in preparation.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: